Seoul: Negotiations on having South Korean tour players compete at an LPGA tournament on their home soil have fallen through, officials said Thursday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) announced that the upcoming BMW Ladies Championship, the only U.S. LPGA event held in South Korea each fall, will not be co-sanctioned with the South Korean circuit. This decision came after the LPGA declined to accept the South Korean proposal of including at least 30 homegrown players in the field of 78 players.
The BMW Ladies Championship is scheduled to take place from October 22 to 25 at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam, located approximately 330 kilometers south of Seoul in South Jeolla Province. The KLPGA stated it had engaged in discussions with its LPGA counterpart 16 times over the past eight months, emphasizing the necessity of having a minimum of 30 KLPGA players participate in order for the tournament to be co-sanctioned with the domestic tour. However, the LPGA countered with an offer to include only up to 10 KLPGA players, leading to an impasse between the two sides.
The KLPGA expressed willingness to make concessions on other aspects of the tournament, such as the schedule, operations, and broadcasting, provided it could send 30 players to the BMW Ladies Championship. The 2019 and 2021 editions of the Championship featured 30 KLPGA players, while the 2020 event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Considering the improved quality and competitiveness of the KLPGA Tour, having at least 30 players at the LPGA event is the bare minimum for us, not something to be negotiated," the KLPGA said in its statement. "We will continue to act on behalf of the rights and interests of our members and try to ensure the continued development of Korean women's golf."
Should KLPGA players still choose to compete at the BMW Ladies Championship, any earnings from the U.S. tour event will not be counted toward their KLPGA total. The KLPGA announced it will hold its own tournament during the same week. The association also pointed out that LPGA tournaments held in other Asian countries have included a larger number of domestic players. For instance, the Blue Bay LPGA in China in May featured 37 homegrown players in a field of 108, and the upcoming Toto Japan Classic in November will have 35 Japanese tour players out of 78 participants.
In response, the LPGA remarked that offering spots for 10 KLPGA players was "a meaningful opportunity." It further stated, "We remain actively engaged with the KLPGA on longer-term opportunities. Korea is incredibly important to the LPGA, and Korean fans have played a huge role in the growth of our Tour and the women's game globally. Our focus now is delivering a world-class BMW Ladies Championship this October for players, partners, and fans, while continuing to work constructively with the KLPGA on the future of this event and women's golf in Korea."
South Korean veteran Kim Sei-young is the defending champion of the BMW Ladies Championship.